Today, December 14, 2012, Silicon Valley United Nations Association chapter joins with all who are deeply saddened and dismayed by the most recent mass murder in our nation, at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. We ask prayers for comfort and peace for those closely affected by this tragedy. May all who seek peace at home and abroad diligently redouble our efforts.

From the SVUNA President: Posted on Saturday, October 27, 2012 10:41 AM

This spring, the ladies of the Women’s Fellowship of Union Church of Cupertino were looking for a service project to replace one that was not longer accepting donations. I suggested Next Door, Solutions to Domestic Violence, a San Jose shelter and service provider for victims of domestic violence. The case studies from the website gave us an inkling of the extent and pervasiveness of this kind of abuse. It affects all economic levels, races, ethnicity and education background. The problems gets more attention only when we read about a horrific example, such as the October 9 shooting of Pakistani teenager Malala Yousafzai for wanting an education. Most victims of domestic violence are women and children. Many have few resources to escape or start over without agencies like Next Door which provides a safe place for these victims.

November 25 marks the UN International Day of Violence Against Women. I’d like share with you how this day came about. Please read and find your place in helping women and children who suffer from this type of abuse.

UN International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women –

November 25 (source: Wikipedia)

Violence Against Women in the World.

Women’s activists have marked November 25 as a day to fight violence against women since 1981. On December 17, 1999, the United NationsGeneral Assembly designated 25 November as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women (Resolution 54/134). The UN invited governments, international organizations and NGOs to organize activities designated to raise public awareness of the problem on this day as an international observance. Women around the world are subject to rape, domestic violence and other forms of violence, and the scale and true nature of the issue is often hidden.

There is more information about the history of this day, and UN publications relating to violence against women, at the UN’s Dag Hammarskjöld Library. UNWomen (formerly UNIFEM -United Nations Development Fund for Women) has a regular observance of the day, and offers suggestions for others to observe it: http://www.unwomen.org/

In April 2012, the Senate voted to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act, and the House subsequently passed its own measure (omitting provisions of the Senate bill that would protect gay men, lesbians, American Indians, and illegal immigrants who were victims of domestic violence). Reconciliation of the two bills has been stymied by procedural measures, leaving the reauthorization in question.

Most of the nations of the world have met and agreed to support these principles which reaffirm the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UNDHR) and Millenium Development Goals (MDG). Check out the UNDHR and MDG on the web, if you’re not familiar with them.